Bettors last on Hinsdale priority pay list..

[Suffolk Shippers]

Just wanted to give this a bump for those out there, like me, who were affected...you should have or should be getting a court document from Presti, Flaherty, Beliveau and Pachios regarding a meeting of "creditors" scheduled for some time in January, and it also lists the amount you have in claim as a "nonpriority claim". It is also has a claim form to begin the process of getting some of our money back.

[djw]

The Keene Sentinel is the only daily on this side of the state. It ran this AP story in todays editions:

A call for a probe into the sudden closing of the Hinsdale Greyhound track

Published: Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Agency asks AG to look into Hinsdale track

CONCORD — The New Hampshire agency that oversees the state’s race tracks wants to know if the Hinsdale Greyhound Park broke any laws when it declared bankruptcy last month.

Timothy Connors, head of the state’s Racing and Charitable Gaming Commission, has asked the attorney general to look into whether the track broke the law by declaring bankruptcy without alerting bettors who had accounts at the track.

Connors said the track had promised it would cover the money in wagering accounts, but did not.

The track’s lawyer says some of the $400,000 to $500,000 in the accounts was used to pay off employees. The lawyer, John Sullivan, says the track broke no law. (AP)

It is VERY odd that as the State of NH start to finally take a serious look at VLT's that this sompany turns in a license they could sell for more than the track itself is worth. All along there have been only 4 locations that have ALWAYS been mentioned as outlets: the 3 dog tracks;Seabrook, Hinsdale, and the Lodge at Belmont (Lakes Region) and Rockingham Park which has reverted back to Harness Racing.

[djw]

Over the past weekend, teh Saturday edition of the local Daily in the Hinsdale Area, the Keene Sentinel (www.sentinelcource.com) had as its lead beneath the masthead a new story about Hinsdale Racetrack and the Phone Bet Issues. This story gets a worse aroma each time it rears its head. Steve Crist is quoted in the story, and it talks about some "interesting" land deals between the owner of the track, the development company which bought some of the land, which is owned by the main owner of the track, and also where they were on their bills - or not paying them. Lists the Salary of Sullivan while the shipw as taking on water from all sides and also while the state was sending in auditors on a weekly basis to keep an eye on things.

On a personal note, the most interesting aspects of this story are that Hinsdale went before the NH Gaming Board in non-public (NP) session. Having served on muncipal boards in the state before, there are VERY specific rules for which you can and can not go into NP, what you can discuss, and what minutes must be kept. The commissioners to a man say that Sullivan )the owner) said that the bettors would be paid. He denies this. (I'm shocked to find gambling going on in this establishment!) The fact they are discussing in general what took place in NP tells me which way teh state is leaning, and Sullivan's response as to why he never told the bettor's or brought it up at the hearings/discussions ("They never asked") is not going to set well with any of the other parties involved.

Crist's quote is a classic. If anyone wants more on thh local flavor of the discussion as it continues, I will try to keep you up to date as it not only effects some of the people I enjoy reading and learning from here on DT but also because this could be what is used as a case study for how other states set-up/adjust their Phone Betting systems. If no one cares to ask or follow-up with thoughts, I will leave you all alone on this one and I will drop the local updates.

Thanks for all the enjoyment you bring to me on a subject I love greatly, and I just wanted to amke a contribution since so many of you have taught me so much about this sport we hold so dear.

[herkhorse]

thanks djw, keep 'em coming

[Suffolk Shippers]

Definitely keep 'em coming D...great stuff.

[djw]

Update to this story -- The local paper had as its 'above the fold" story on Sunday (at sentinelsource.com) about some more of the sordid dealings that took palce trying to keep Hinsdale afloat, and also what the State Legislature has done to try and assure that it will nto happen again at any of the 3 tracks still operating. The most interesting parts of the article, from my own perspective only, are that Rockingham came out about 10 days ago with their slots or death notice, and how much it woudl add to the NH state coffers -- and how the state has told the tracks they need to set aside a fund to cover their Advance Wager Accounts. It has to be up to 70% of the amount in the fund. The deadline has not arrivd yet, but NONE of the three entities has yet to set up said account. This does not bode well for the future of ADW here in the Granite State.

I would be interested in others opinions if you wish to take a moment to review the article.

I figure all of you keep me informed about the issues across the nation, I owe it to all of you to keep you up to date on this one where we people we know of and respect were abused by the system.

[Kasept]

Keene (NH) Sentinel with more yesterday on the Hinsdale case and duplicious Joe Sullivan. Easy to read between the lines at a disgusting act of fraud that is likely to go unpunished.


Bettors watch debtor
Pursuit of Hinsdale racing funds continues

By PHILLIP BANTZ
Sentinel Staff
Published: Sunday, March 22, 2009

http://keenesentinel.com/articles/20.../id_348581.txt

Betting is Herschel Bird’s business. The Nevada resident has etched out a comfortable living beating the odds. Not much slips past this guru among horse racing aficionados.

But if you told Bird four months ago that the five-decades-old Hinsdale Greyhound Racing Association was on the verge of sinking and taking his six-figure wagering account along for the ride, he wouldn’t have believed it.

“Ironically, I felt very loyal to that track. I dealt with them for five years,” Bird said in a recent phone interview. “Even after they lost their competitive edge and there were better rates available elsewhere, I kept my money there. I was doing less business, but I still stayed.”